In eight short years the company has experienced explosive growth as it has turned craft beer on its ear by stuffing complex & challenging beer into cans. Oskar Blues continues to grow by leaps and bounds: 42,000 barrels produced in 2010 compared to 29,000 barrels produced in 2009 and 17,000 barrels in 2008.

Oskar Blues photo

A lot more cans of Dale’s Pale Ale rolled off the production line last year.

Read the full news release:

LONGMONT, Colo… What began as a joke just eight years ago has launched a beer can revolution. Today, Oskar Blues is not only the pioneer but the leader of the movement experiencing a 45% Increase in shipments and 54% increase in retail sales as demand eclipsed supply.

In eight short years the company has experienced explosive growth as it has turned craft beer on its ear by stuffing complex & challenging beer into cans. Oskar Blues continues to grow by leaps and bounds: 42,000 barrels produced in 2010 compared to 29,000 barrels produced in 2009 and 17,000 barrels in 2008.

After realizing the benefits of the can package and taking risk that idea has turned out to be a profitable endeavor and the beginning of what is today an ever-expanding national trend. “It was far-fetched for anyone to really believe, even in our industry, that someone would put a full-flavored, hoppy beer in a can,” said Dale Katechis, recalling the 2002 launch of Dale’s Pale Ale. “Most people laughed it off.”

In 2010, Oskar Blues added a total of seven 200-barrel tanks in 60 days attempting to keep up with demand while pulling out of two markets. The introduction of increasingly diverse and complex boundary busting beers, like the highly regarded GUBNA Imperial IPA, has allowed them to trade up consumer’s perception of canned craft beer and drive demand of its other core brews: Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub Scotch Ale, Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Gordon Imperial Red Ale and Ten FIDY Imperial Stout.

“Due to brands like Gubna Imperial IPA ($15 a four-pack), 100 IBU’s and 10% ABV, we’re able to provide great profit per SKU for our distributors & retail accounts.” explains John Bryant.

The brewery’s trailblazing and revolutionary efforts have resulted in growing demand and customer acceptance of canned craft beer. In 2010, their success has been reinforced by: Dale’s Pale Ale being named one of “America’s Hottest Brands” in Advertising Age & Beverage World; a Market Watch cover story on the brewery’s canned beer evolution; five gold medals in the 2010 World Beer Championships; one gold medal at the 2010 European Beer Star Competition; recipient of the Colorado Brewers Guild 2010 President’s Award; and ranked in Inc. Magazine’s prestigious 5000 list for the second year.

Oskar Blues continues its marketing innovation with the introduction of the EVOLVE campaign aimed at consumers EVOLVING to the benefits of the can package regardless of the activity or occasion. Oskar Blues has also launched the 2nd program represented on cans of Dale’s Pale Ale November through April. The program is a collaboration with Burton [AK] and Backcountry Magazine providing gear giveaways each month at: www.bcbeerngear.com.

What’s next for Oskar Blues Brewery? Oskar Blues will focus on producing and delivering enough of their cult favorite canned beer (opting for freshness over volume), and further enhancing its relationships with distributors in 2011 – all while remaining true to its original mission of simply blowing minds with what can come out of a can of beer.